A World Away
by CCommons
Summary: The drama unfolding in Japan feels a whole world away for the American population. But for one American hero, the danger is hitting very close to home.
1. Changing Spaces

**Chapter 1**

**Changing Spaces**

**A/N: Been sitting on this one. Let's see how it goes. **

* * *

"Stop!" Shouta Aizawa didn't really need to shout such an order when he'd already caught her around the waist and shoulders with his Capturing Weapon. He'd cancelled her quirk well before he'd even figured out what it was but she was so fast.

She huffed heavy breaths and turned to face him. The mask over her mouth and nose made the air come out almost like a vapor. Her voice had a bit of a lilt to it as though she were amused, the mask releasing an almost robotic sound "I haven't been able to use my Quirk since you started chasing me. Are you doing that?"

"I ask the questions, criminal."

"Criminal?" now clearly amused she moved her free hand up to her face. Aizawa pulled the restraints tighter; the action pinning her arms to her chest and making her visibly wince.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" she teased.

Behind his goggles he squinted, annoyed. "Where's the drive?"

"Oh you mean the drive you stopped me from getting from the actual bad-guy? Long gone."

Another subtle tug and another wince, "Stop lying."

"My name is Jumper, asshole, and I'm a hero. My license is in my bag." Her eyes were narrowed and she was now no longer amused, "Feel free to check for the drive while you're in there."

There was a pouch strapped around her thigh, the only other thing on her person sans the mask on her face and gloves on her hands. She didn't look like much of a hero. Just a sleeveless black bodysuit zippered to her neck and that mask made her look a more like a villain...or a cat burglar.

Aizawa approached her slowly, taking the time to be sure she was restrained.

"I really don't have all night." she hurried him along.

He continued to take his time however and reached into the pouch. He pulled out the laminated card and found himself surprised at the International Hero License in his hand. And there in the bottom left corner, a sparkly American flag; signifying country of hero origin.

When she snatched the card from his hand and fell backwards off the edge of the roof, Aizawa was too busy trying to figure out when he'd loosened his hold to comprehend what had just happened. He was hanging over the edge the next second though, but there was nothing there. Just the empty street where the police were _finally_ arriving.

A whistle sounded, pulling his gaze across the street. Jumper waved once, before again stepping off the side of the building, where a hole opened in mid air and swallowed her up.

* * *

"If you didn't work on your own terms you would have known about Jumper being here. The villain she's after has been all over the globe."

Shouta crossed his arms, "I didn't believe she was a hero."

"So I was told." the man behind the desk spun his screen for the other man to see. A video of Jumper showing her quirk in action, one of the very few times she'd done so in public at that, "She makes portals." he explained, "She can open holes in space to get from one place to another."

"What's with the mask?" it hadn't seemed decorative, with the vapor coming from each breath.

"The air in the space where her portals open is very thin. She needs it to breathe. Her quirk isn't very useful for rescue purposes because of this, but she can send objects through."

In the video she opened one of these portals under a car parked on the street, it fell from a hole in the sky a moment later.

Aizawa was only a little impressed, "Looks like she causes a lot of damage."

"Her missions are usually stealth based." the man sighed, "Look, Eraserhead, she works for her country's government and her license allows her to operate in any country virtually without permission, she only need notify the country she's headed to."

"I know how the International License works."

"Then you know the longer she's here; the more you hinder her, the more bullshit I have to deal with? I'm too tired for this nonsense..."

"I was just answering to the alarm."

"If you're going to continue operating as an individual, you need to research better." the head of the hero commission tossed a large envelope at him, "Get in her way again and I'll take your license for six weeks."

Aizawa had chosen to be what one would refer to as a freelance or underground hero to avoid crap like this. Being reprimanded and ordered around wasn't his idea of real Hero work and honestly, freelance was getting boring. He was switching to teaching soon. This Jumper though, she seemed to have a pretty free setup happening for her. He was a little jealous.

With that being said, an international license was almost impossible to obtain. Of Japanese Heroes, only All Might, Endeavor and Best Jeanist had one. Ranking first, second and fourth respectively. While obtaining one was usually a rank-based opportunity, it varied from country to country and had to be approved by all other countries in the United Nations. The current number three had made it as far as the country leader's approval. But the UN passed him over.

Aizawa tossed the packet onto the table when he entered his apartment. Going about his usual evening routine of basically just getting comfortable.

It was well over two hours later when he came back to the small common area, a towel around his neck, and threw the hunk of papers a slight glare. He couldn't deny though that whatever Jumper was after, to have been sent from the U.S., it must be something big. The type of big he wanted a hand in before he stopped hero work all together.

He turned on his police scanner and various other alarm tracking machinery before sitting at the table and opening the large envelope.

For such a large pack of paper there was very little information. Most was redacted or just too vague. Locations without mission parameters or items without locations. There was nothing about why she was currently here either.

Her profile had been the top page, her hero name, quirk and rank; which was blank. An odd piece of missing information for the license she held. Her real name and where she'd received training had been redacted as well. In her picture her mask hung around her neck. Aizawa was sure it was the same picture on her license, but he hadn't really noticed on the dark rooftop. He studied her face a touch longer, feeling laid bare by her green eyes, before abandoning the papers and standing to make coffee.

_Where would a criminal with a top secret hard drive go?_

Despite himself he couldn't help but think on the drive. He'd only known that's what it was because of the police scanner. The robbery had actually been reported by a technician working late and he said that a hard dive had been stolen.

He'd also reported that the thief _"changed the walls"_.

Jumper couldn't change or create walls as far as he knew... but then again, he'd given her no chance to show her quirk before cancelling it.

What was done was done and he tried to clear his head of it.

_Would need a computer..._

The teapot was whistling when it hit him and he decided to abandon the idea of drinking his coffee in peace.

* * *

"I hope you're here to apologize."

Jumper didn't even look over her shoulder to acknowledge him as he approached her from behind. Her voice came clear; without the robotic distortion of her mask.

Aizawa joined her side at the edge of the roof line and looked down into the dark streets. They were in the middle of what was essentially the corporate district. All buildings were mostly dark and the streets were lazy at best. A car or two passed every few minutes, but otherwise all was still.

"I came to help."

"I don't need help. I move better and faster alone." she said.

So did he.

"This thief has a quirk?" he was aware that they did. But fished for more info on it.

"Yeah he-" she finally looked over at him and he felt himself start at her gaze. She was shocked as well as she wasn't expecting his eyes to no longer be covered. And he held his head a little higher, not hiding the rest of his face behind his Capturing Weapon.

He was handsome, she wasn't ready for that.

"He changes the walls." she finished

"That's what the emergency caller said."

"So _that's_ how you found me. I thought I'd be out before the cops arrived but they must have sent you ahead."

"I work underground actually."

She smiled, turning back to the street, "Funny. So do I."

Aizawa thought she worked for her government. He started to question her but without a word she pointed to the street. The street itself was distorting as if it was a glitch in a video game, "If you really do work like I do, maybe I _can_ use your help. If you can stop his Quirk and contain him, this will be over in minutes."

She looked hopeful that it was that simple. He nodded and pulled up his goggles, "Eraserhead, by the way."

She smirked before covering her mouth with the mask and taking a deep breath. After the exhale she chuckled, "Picked your name in school huh?"

He couldn't help but grumble at the memory, "A friend of mine picked it."

She only chuckled as she watched the distortion move right up to the doors, "He's inside."

Eraserhead turned to where the rooftop door should have been only to find nothing. "What the hell?"

"That's his thing, his quirk is some sort of spacial distortion, but it's not an illusion. The door is actually gone."

"Then how do we-?"

"Hold your breath." she cut him off, opening a hole in the rooftop.

Stepping out of the space horizontally when they'd fallen vertically was definitely strange. Not to mention there was no real sensation of falling, just of being squeezed almost. Spacial reality Quirks like Jumper's and the thief's were rare. Just like elemental Quirks like wielding fire, water, ice or earth. They were much harder to study than the elemental and other quirks though and their wielders died from them often.

"Ok." Jumper's distorted voice brought him out of his head, "The computer in this building runs codes and passwords from all of the top secret institutions from all over the world. It's basically just a giant server."

"I've heard of those. Aren't their several around the world?"

"Six." she continued to speak quickly, checking a small compact computer she'd pulled from the pouch on her thigh, "They bounce the information around the globe on a non schedule schedule. But if you have enough hard drive files containing the matching encrypted files..."

"You could unlock more than enough secret information for multiple countries."

"Nuclear codes, major city power grids, sensitive information on country leaders, military secrets..." she trailed off before starting down a hallway.

"But why Japan? Why stop here?"

He followed close behind her, looking around for more glitching walls, doors or floors.

"Unfortunately the security in Japan is lax because of the dependence on heroes. A skilled enough quirk owner can get into buildings without tripping alarms and generally move without alerting hero agencies."

Aizawa already knew this. It's why he was underground. Japan was of the few countries with heroes who were revered and recognized around the world, but it also suffered in it's normal agencies of protection and prevention as a result. Heroes were relied on for everything from putting out fires to stopping bank robbers. In countries like the US, heroes were reserved for special cases and regular humans in police, fire, and the military were well trained to handle Quirk bearing villains without a hero's help.

She slowed to a stop and looked down at the computer, "He hid the access door."

"Can't we go through the wall?"

"_I_ can..."

Aizawa was confused until he remembered, _"The air in the space where her portals open is very thin." _

"I can't keep taking you through or you'll pass out. Holding your breath isn't going to work over and over." she elaborated.

"It's just one wall."

"Unless he put up more, or worse."

She had a point there.

Shouta's brain was working when he felt a tap and she was handing him her mask, "Take it."

"_You_ need it."

"I trained without it. I'll last longer than you will."

There wasn't time to argue so he put it on. It was the oddest feeling seeing the vapor in front of his face as he exhaled. When the hole opened in the wall he jumped in without hesitation, but he didn't expect to not hit floor when he went through.

The thief had distorted the room to almost completely remove the floor. At the bottom of the new pit he'd created was broken cement and rebar, almost like a pit of spikes. Deeper than it should have been for the building's construction but very real. Jumper opened a new hole for Aizawa, landing him precariously on a tiny piece of floor still attached to the wall.

She couldn't open portals at the same time though, only in rapid succession. Open, close, open then close. So she was dangerously close to the bottom herself when she reappeared dangling from what little floor there was supporting the giant computer.

It looked like a giant egg, lit soft blue and humming.

"You're too late!" shouted a new voice.

Then Eraserhead realized, the thief was out of his sight, on the other side of the computer from where he'd landed. "I can't see him!" he shouted. Although he could see Jumper's lower body as she dangled.

There wasn't enough floor for her to climb up so the thief didn't even bother trying to move her. He went about typing away. Wires and cables bundled under him as he worked. She had an idea but it wasn't a very smart one.

If the thief was falling, maybe Eraserhead could see him, stop his quirk, and possibly snatch him from the air with his weapon. The catch here was hoping that's how the other hero reacted.

She didn't have time to hope.

She let go, falling through a hole just under her and appeared a moment later just above the thief. It took split second timing to open another hole, just as the one above her closed, under the thief.

Aizawa wasn't expecting a falling, kicking and screaming villain to appear before him but he immediately snatched him from the air, making sure to also stop his quirk in the process. He was heavy and falling fast though and without the proper leverage, the thief's weight pulled him off the platform.

"Jumper!"

He wasn't sure how she'd managed it, but he and the thief rolled out onto the pavement outside the building a moment later.

"I'll take it from here, Eraserhead."

As he looked up at Best Jeanist, it was then that he realized his gaze wasn't on the thief and what sounded like an explosion shook the street and shattered the windows on the first few floors of the building.

His cold glare was on the thief again a moment later but all he did was smile.

* * *

That last hole had been a guess and she hoped Eraserhead landed safely outside. She turned to the computer but felt her stomach lurch as the rest of the floor vanished. The heavy computer fell faster than she did and hit the pit bottom.

Debris shot up at her and bounced off the walls. She felt a pinch in her gut as she fell through a hole before she blacked out.

* * *

"-an American! Jumper. She's in there!"

Aizawa had been heading for a shattered window when he was stopped. The villain had been properly detained, his quirk neutralized through an injection.

Best Jeanist held his fellow hero back, "The foundation of that building is gone from what you're telling me! We have to move to a safe distance."

"We can't leave her in there."

"But we can't send anyone inside."

They glared at each other for a moment before there was a commotion behind them.

"We got another one!"

The two rushed over, Aizawa recognizing the unconscious woman, "She's a hero!" He corrected the mutters about a second villain.

An EMT fell to her side and rolled her over. Showing a short piece of rebar protruding from her gut, "She's not breathing!"


	2. Hello Goodbye

**Chapter 2**

**Hello Goodbye**

**A/N: Short and sweet.**

* * *

"Did I miss it?"

The voice behind him was groggy, muffled and a touch disappointed. On the small hospital television, they were discussing the heroic efforts of two "unnamed heroes" and Best Jeanist in the capture of an international villain. As well as replays of the controlled collapse of the building.

Aizawa muted the television and turned to her, "I'll call the doctor."

She shook her head and pulled the oxygen mask from her face. Struggling to sit up, "Screw that. I just want to see the building collapse."

The man turned the volume up,_ "Early this morning, a little over nine hours after the heroic efforts of Best Jeanist and two unnamed heroes in the capture of a international villain; the building housing a three-hundred million dollar computer system was demolished. Using what's called a controlled collapse, city officials and several heroes oversaw the event, ensuring no further damage to our city, or harm to our citizens."_

The footage rolled of the building falling straight down, folding in on itself. The dust being controlled by water spray and barricades set up accordingly.

"Hm. Would have been bad if it had fallen on it's own and hit a gas line or something." Jumper mused out loud, "It's amazing the computer didn't explode again..."

Aizawa sat back down in the chair next to her bed, unsure of what to do or say next. She'd been out for a little over twelve hours and he'd sat in that very spot the entire time. Doctors had informed him that she'd run out of oxygen using her own Quirk without her mask. If she hadn't regained some consciousness and exited the space, she would have died; and the trauma from her wound meant she couldn't fly for at least eight weeks.

"Hey." she broke him out of his thoughts and grinned at him, "Have you been here the whole time?"

He nodded, "Yeah." His biggest concern now, was why she wasn't at all bothered by credit going to a high ranking hero who showed up after the fact to apprehend a villain they'd already caught. Credit wasn't really his thing of course, but he wondered about her.

"You're not angry that they didn't name you?"

She scoffed, "I'll get paid and properly thanked and briefed by my people soon enough. I'm not a citizen facing hero." she winced and settled down, "I would think you knew that."

"I was given some information on you, your rank was blank."

The woman smiled, "Because I don't have one."

"But your license..."

"What I can do completely overshadows the opinion of the public. What they think of me doesn't matter, I'm _needed_." she sighed, "There aren't very many people with Quirks like mine... at least not on the side of good anyway."

There was a knock on the door and the next moment it swung open. Five people in black suits entered and looked expectantly at Aizawa. He immediately understood that under their near glares they were expecting him to leave.

He heard Jumper sigh as he did and one of the women among the five closed the door firmly just as his foot cleared the threshold.

The muffled words that floated from the room were english and curt. From what he could see through the window, Jumper looked down at her hands as she spoke. One of the suits said something and she looked up at the ceiling, obviously stressed.

There were a few more gestures and exasperated facial expressions before the group turned for the door.

Not one of the suits acknowledged Aizawa as they passed and headed down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

"That seemed intense." he offered in a bored tone when he reentered the room.

"Just a bunch of bullshit really."

He felt out of place and shuffled awkwardly. "What did they say?"

"The usual crap ya know? Damages come out of my pay, I was expected to be discreet, blah blah blah." she huffed, "I can't go home either."

"What?"

"Well, not until I'm healed enough to fly; three months tops."

Silence followed. He was intrigued by Jumper, but didn't usually give people the gift of his time or attention. Still, he didn't want to just leave... "I start teaching in about two months."

It was an odd change of topic, but Jumper humored him, smirking, "Tired of the dark underpaid world of freelance?"

"There aren't enough heroes like you." he answered truthfully.

"Like me?"

"Not interested in glory or swayed by rank. And definitely not completely in control of their quirks."

_"_Are you always so critical?"

"Yes."

She laughed, immediately reaching down to her bandaged gut, "I admire your honesty." despite her pain she couldn't stop chuckling, "But you're going to be such a hard-ass. Poor kids."

Being laughed at made him uncomfortable, "It was nice working with you, Jumper."

He was halfway across the room when she said, "Chelsea. My name is Chelsea." he turned to her and she shrugged, "Super American, I know. Since I'm stuck here I may bump into you again..." she trailed off obviously, urging him to share his name.

"Shouta."

She smiled, "See you around teacher Shouta."

* * *

"Teacher Shouta!"

Aizawa looked up from the package of ramen in his hands, his tired eyes immediately spotting the foreigner approaching him. He spoke slowly, "Didn't think I'd see you again."

"Neither did I."

It had been a month, closer to three weeks actually, since he'd left the American hero alone in her hospital room. But it hadn't been the last time he'd thought about her. In fact, he'd showed up at the hospital a few days after leaving only to be informed that she'd been released. Her new location was classified and somehow he felt it would be odd to request access to such information. But he wondered where she'd gone and how she was doing.

"How are you?"

They'd each asked at the same time. The soon to be teacher slightly flustered. Chelsea noticed but went with, "Ive been fine. Still in some pain but fine."

"Good."

"And you?"

"Busy." Aizawa was still going out and acting as a hero at night, only to spend all day trying to create the perfect lesson plan.

"Too busy for decent food?" The woman gestured to his basket, full of mostly coffee, snacks and instant ramen.

"I don't cook."

She smirked, "I do." Chuckling as a slight blush tinted the tips of his ears which showed with his ponytailed hair tucked behind them. "I'm saying I could cook for you, if you like. A real meal on your stomach might afford you some decent sleep. And we could talk about your lessons maybe?"

He just sort of looked into his basket, unsure of how to answer.

"I don't know anyone here." she continued, hopeful for company, "I'm bored and if you're busy, I can help."

"You're still injured."

She smiled knowingly, "So you're up to more than lesson plans..."

Her smile lit up her face and Aizawa was both captivated and jealous of her well rested freshness. Her green eyes were bright and her tan skin glowed. He had questions he needed answered and gaps in his lesson plans he needed filled. And as much as the solitary hero hated to admit it, they made a pretty good team.

The plus of a home cooked meal couldn't be avoided either.

"Alright."

This time the woman blushed. A deep peach color rather than pink across her honey cheeks as her smile grew, "Perfect."

They approached the counter, each paying for their baskets full of items then parted at the entrance of the store. She explained she lived nearby, just as close as Aizawa to the small store. Each of them on either side of it by a few blocks.

She clutched the little slip of paper with his address firm in her hands as she waved shortly and they parted in separate directions.

Aizawa wondered faintly, what exactly had come over him to invite a woman to his apartment. He'd gotten his answer as he started walking away, the strong urge to look over his shoulder which he ignored.

But for the entirety of his short walk, her smile lit up his mind and somehow he wasn't quite as tired.


	3. 6 Week Engagement

**Chapter 3**

**6 Week Engagement**

**A/N: This one is pretty lack luster. Mostly because I just want to get started with "present day" stuff.**

* * *

"Is something wrong?"

Chelsea had stopped at the threshold of Aizawa's apartment and looked around in slight shock. He became instantly aware of how small it was and worried that maybe he'd left out something embarrassing. Not that he _owned _anything more embarrassing than the paperwork finalizing his hero name.

"Oh! Not at all. I was just expecting piles of papers and a police scanner and abandoned coffee cups."

How right on she'd been was scary but she giggled and entered, slipping off her shoes. The soon to be teacher closed the door behind her.

"I made sure to clean for your arrival."

She smiled over her shoulder, "Thanks. Kitchen?"

He slid past her in the narrow hall, brushing against her completely. Why had he invited her again? He hastily took a bag from her arms and headed to the kitchen.

Right, a free meal, a completed lesson plan and to look at her eyes... No, not the last part.

"I wasn't sure what you'd need so I pulled out everything I had."

The small prep area wasn't exactly covered in pots and utensils. But what he had would do. Chelsea placed the other bags down and reached inside them. With a grin she offered him two bottles.

Aizawa was a bit shocked by the wine, seeing as he didn't usually drink at home. And it'd been forever since he'd been out for a drink... "I don't have glasses for these."

She reached back into the bag, unwrapping the items, "I figured. You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all thank you." he took the offered glasses.

"I should be thanking you."

"Why?"

"For staying with me in the hospital as long as you did." she placed several vegetables and a package of what look like steak on the counter, "And for being my only friend here I guess."

"You're the one who saved my life." Aizawa reminded her. Not only had she handed over her mask to make their short-lived partnership work, she chose to expel him from the building before herself.

Chelsea chuckled as she started washing vegetables in the sink, "After I endangered it."

He was next to her, pretty close in the small kitchen when he spoke again, "I wanted to help you." he placed the half full wine glass on the counter and returned to the rest of the apartment. Fully opening the sliding door connecting the living space to the kitchen.

Chelsea turned back to her washing. This wasn't a vacation or even a break. It was mandated exile until she was well enough to fly, or rather well enough to return to hero duties. Being bored wasn't a lie, neither was wanting to make friends. She couldn't just sit in her apartment for three months. When she was released from the hospital she found that he hadn't left any of his information. And when she asked the Hero Commission about him, all they cared to tell her was he was indeed becoming a teacher.

She was dying to know why.

"You don't strike me as the teaching type, Teacher Shouta."

He was finding the nickname to be somewhat pleasant although he'd bristled at it covertly the day before in the store.

"What do you mean?"

"Heroes don't do freelance." It was a statement of fact. She was chopping at that point and the knife hitting the board seemed to punctuate what she said, "Freelance heroes are like a protest statement. A fuck you to the government."

Again, statement of fact.

The Hero Commission in any country was an arm of Government. And while freelance heroes still received ranking and pay through them, as well as the occasional assignment; the freedom from _looking_ or _acting_ the part for the masses was worth the lower pay and meager assignments. More meaningful assignments as far as Aizawa was concerned.

Chelsea kept chopping, "But teaching future heroes...giving up the freedom to really _be _a hero and conform to the classroom..."

"I don't plan to conform."

"Oh?"

Aizawa looked into his glass. "A fellow hero suggested I be a teacher a few years ago. I swore I'd never, for the reasons you just said. I wanted to be the truest hero I could be. Unswayed by rank or money."

She turned on the stove, "But?"

"But I realized I couldn't change what it meant to be a hero by myself. My friends all became _those_ heroes and I didn't think less of them. But my best friend became a teacher last year and hearing him talk about," he chuckled," Or rather hearing him yell about how amazing it was, how he was shaping the future of heroes..."

"You saw your chance to really make a difference."

He'd spoken evenly, but still with conviction and passion. Her heart was pounding.

"In the states we don't have academies like you guys do, which is nuts for the so called 'birthplace of heroes'. They're privately owned and entry is really only granted to the quirk bearing children of high ranking heroes, military leaders or just the insanely rich." she felt sad, "We're one of the _only _countries with a system like that. It's infuriating."

"So how did you learn?"

"Like a lot of regular people do. They enlist in the military. At sixteen you can enlist and go through a two year training. At eighteen you can test out and join the Hero Commission, or you can continue training and the military places you. A lot of people just go to regular schools which have less than stellar hero courses and become police officers or firemen and the like."

"Your number one? What did he do?"

"He got into an academy." she sighed, "We're only the birthplace because when Quirks appeared American citizens were already emboldened by being Americans, if that makes sense. They just start saving the day without being asked. But when the laws started and schools opened, it became something else." she chuckled, "Everything is about who you know and ultimately who you are."

"He seems like a good man though."

She nodded as she began plating food, "He is. Like your All-Might, he seems like a good guy too."

"I guess so. He's not my cup of tea."

She approached the low table in the living area, expertly balancing two plates with one arm and holding her glass of wine in the other, "Good thing we're not drinking tea then."

Hours passed and they ate and talked and shared battle stories. Aizawa was happy for the company of someone who really understood him and the kind of teacher he wanted to be and the kind of hero he wanted to nurture.

"I say scare them right off the bat."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, I learned in the military. Our very first test on our very first day was just to complete simple relay tasks using our quirks; 50 meter run, long jumps, stuff like that. Half my class flunked out the first day. But it made it much easier for those of us who really wanted to keep going."

Aizawa liked that, he liked it a lot.

The two sat shoulder to shoulder, halfway through the second bottle of wine that the woman really shouldn't have been drinking with her injuries and papers all over the table. The sun had set well before this moment and they talked and talked about being heroes and being people.

"Will your students address you as Eraserhead?"

"God no."

They chuckled together and Chelsea poured herself more wine, "So how did that happen?"

"They let us pick our names in Academy before we took the Hero test. I couldn't think of a name; I didn't care since I didn't plan to be one of those heroes."

She smiled, remembering, "Right, a friend picked your name." she rocked into him playfully. "A girl?"

Aizawa had to fight to not roll his tired eyes, "No, not at all. Present MIC picked my name."

The woman erupted into a fit of giggles, "No wonder you got stuck with such a name!"

He found himself smiling as she laughed, it was a nice sound. She'd gathered herself and looked into his eyes, "Interesting choice since your quirk has more to do with your eyes than your head..."

"He's an idiot."

"He seems like a good guy, fun."

"He is, and he's a good teacher."

"You'll be a good teacher too."

Again Chelsea was looking so intently into his eyes. But what she said next didn't quite match up to what her gaze was suggesting, "I should go. It's late."

Aizawa grabbed her arm, gently, "That's not what you want is it?"

She smiled, "No, no it's not."

"Stay."

The woman eased back down to the table. Sitting just as close to him as she'd been before she stood. "Maybe we should finish this lesson plan." she suggested, still lost in his tired gaze.

He pulled her closer, "Maybe."

* * *

"Yes, yes I understand..."

Chelsea looked over her shoulder as she heard the door to Aizawa's apartment open. She'd stepped out to avoid waking him, but her absence must have done so anyway. He couldn't read her expression well enough with the glance but her somber tone worried him.

She mumbled something else before hanging up and sighing loudly.

"Whats wrong?" he finally asked.

She answered without turning to him, "They're ordering me home."

It had been six weeks. Six weeks since she'd come and fixed him dinner, six weeks since they'd basically perfected his teaching style, six weeks since she'd basically abandoned her very nice apartment to hold up in his. Six weeks that had blurred together beautifully.

They moved inside and sat together, just staring into hot coffee mugs and not saying much when he asked, "When?"

"The formal orders are for tomorrow morning."

"Formal orders..." Aizawa didn't understand the term. There were orders and there were suggestions. This new type baffled him.

Another sigh, "Formal orders are a military thing." she explained, "The consequences of disobeying a formal order are finite and cannot be appealed."

"And the consequences?"

"I'll be stripped of my license and dishonorably discharged for defying a direct order."

"Stay."

He'd said it without really thinking, just like he had only six weeks ago. Six weeks that felt like a lifetime to the twenty-six year old teacher. Chelsea smiled at him, still trying to process, "Being a hero is _everything_ to me."

"You can apply to change your license. Stay here, with me."

Her eyes were watering up, "Teacher Shouta," she chuckled weakly before continuing, "it sounds like you're proposing to a woman you've only known for six weeks."

"I am."

The tears fell and she shook her head, "We knew this was coming. We knew this would just be a short thing."

It was true. Only a week earlier, she'd gone to the hospital for a scheduled check. She'd been cleared to travel and return to hero work. Almost four weeks before the doctors initial prediction. And this game of house, it was just that, or at least that's how it started.

"I know what we decided." he stated.

"But?"

"Things change."

A nod, "I _do _like you. I like it here..."

"Stay." he urged again.

She shook her head, "I _want_ to go home, Shouta. I just really didn't want to leave like this. I really thought I'd get more time." The three month healing time she'd been given originally felt like a prison sentence. Stuck in a country where she knew no-one.

But now she felt as though she was being ripped away. She was ready for the end of three months. She wasn't ready for tomorrow morning.

"Still, marry me, then."

"I'm not going to change your mind am I?"

"No." he answered immediately.

She laughed again, for real this time and wiped her tears. Having a spouse meant leniency in more situations. It would be easier to make the distance work when she'd be more readily allowed to see him "How are we going to explain this?"

He shrugged, "We're young and we're heroes. Who needs anymore explanation than that?"


	4. Space and Time

**Chapter 4**

**Space and Time**

**A/N: Worked on this one on the job. Might be a little typo heavy...**

* * *

"You made it."

"Of course I did. How is he?"

"He could be better." The woman with Present MIC was at a stark contrast. He greeted her in his costume, meanwhile she was clad in a black suit. The skirt looked uncomfortable although she moved confidently in the heels. The hospital visitor pass for the special hero wing on her blazer read clearly, Cherushī Aizawa.

About six months after her incredibly rushed Japanese courthouse wedding, with all of three other heroes in attendance, Chelsea had changed her incredibly American name to the Japanese spelling and pronunciation. She also embraced her husbands last name.

This was five years ago.

Much to the shock of everyone involved, even to Shouta and Cherushī, the marriage lasted. Through missed anniversaries, government restrictions and a few retaliations to some broken rules.

"He woke up this afternoon, asking for you. But we're still unsure about his eyesight." the sound hero explained as they moved down the hall. The incident happened yesterday but Cherushī had been informed as it was happening. She wasn't released though until she'd gotten word her husband was hurt.

"Do we have any more information about what happened?"

"They're calling themselves The League of Villains. Lead by a man named Shigaraki, they got into our new training facility and attacked students. He did his best to protect them."

"That's the same thing the news is saying." She sighed, "The same thing I've already been told."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This is jarring for everyone. I've never heard of this happening before, anywhere."

She had heard, however, that the students held their own. Amazing for first years, especially first years only several weeks into classes. The woman was impressed, just as she was when her husband informed her that he hadn't failed a single one on the first day.

"How long are they letting you stay?" Hizashi asked the woman as they entered a new corridor.

"I have forty-eight hour clearance."

"Just two days?!"

"I almost wasn't allowed at all. I'm not cleared to use my Quirk either." the woman was clearly agitated.

"Have you given it any thought?"

He was referring to the same offer Shouta presented five years ago. Changing citizenship, becoming a Japanese hero.

"I have."

They'd arrived at Aizawa's room. But Cherushī hesitated. Through the small window, she could see him lying on his back in the bed.

Hizashi put a hand on her back and opened the door for her.

She approached the bed slowly and hesitated in touching him. His whole body was bandaged, most of his head too, "I'm here Shouta."

When he opened his eyes she could tell he was offering her the smallest smile. With the rest of his face bandaged, it would have been hard for anyone else to tell.

"How long?"

"Till the day after tomorrow."

He closed his eyes, "Better than nothing."

She kissed his bandaged forehead then sat on a chair already pulled close to the bedside, "What happened?"

"It happened so fast."

She tried to ease him with her touch, brushed his temple with the backs of her fingers. But it probably did little with the bandages. "I know there was training scheduled for your students. You were with Thirteen, right?"

A weak nod.

"Ok. Then there were Villains, dozens of them I was told." she took a deep breath, trying to relax, "How did they get in? Which one of them did this to you?"

Regardless of rules or regulations Jumper had all of, now, forty-four hours and some odd minutes to find this villain and make them pay.

Aizawa managed to move his eyes over to her, "He had a quirk like yours. Warp gates."

"Who did?"

"I don't know. He was their transport somehow. He could move them, _all _of them. He separated my students."

She wiped her cheeks of a few stray tears, "Shouta," his mind was still on his students, "Your students are ok. I need you to tell me which one of them hurt _you_."

"Nomu. It was strong, like All Might. It...it snapped my bones like twigs..."

"It?"

"Not even remotely human." He was suddenly sounding more coherent, "Bio-engineered anti-symbol of peace." he recalled what he'd heard the villain, assumed to be their leader, say.

"Not human, but engineered." she mused mostly to herself, "Did it have a Quirk?"

"Even if it did. It still managed to crush me with it cancelled. It was strong, stronger than All Might."

Aizawa's eyes were redder and much more tired than usual. They watched his wife, her own green eyes looking cold and angry. He loved those eyes but hated that look, "Cherushī please."

Her eyes softened as she looked to him, "I'll be alright when you're alright." Her voice was warm but Aizawa knew his wife. No matter how far apart they were usually, he knew every particle of the woman.

She stood and he wished he could reach out and grab her.

"What are you going to do?"

She smiled an honest smile as she leaned down to kiss his covered mouth, "Right now? Find you something to eat."

"And tomorrow?"

Cherushī stopped at the door, "There's a meeting tomorrow. I'll do that then come back here."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

When the woman entered the hall, she'd had every intention of tracking down some broth and a straw. But an officer stopped her, bowing deeply. "Mrs. Aizawa, I'm very sorry about what has happened to your husband."

"Thank you..." She'd drifted without a name.

"Naomasa, ma'am. I apologize for intruding. I've been cleared on who you are and just wanted to inform you that I'll be escorting you to the meeting at UA tomorrow morning." he looked a little nervous, "Also..."

"Yes?"

It seemed like something he wasn't sure he should be telling her, but it only seemed right. "We took in a lot of suspects yesterday, but one in particular was, odd."

"Officer Naomasa, please just speak plainly." she was tired. Her flight had been long and full of worry. And even now the woman was no closer to being able to relax.

"We apprehended a _thing _yesterday. I believe it's what attacked Mr. Aizawa. All Might reportedly expelled it from the USJ, but we found it with no injuries and it's been cooperating so far, except, it doesn't seem to speak."

Cherushī could hear her heart beating in her ears. Naomasa had continued talking, not noticing that the woman wasn't really listening. He'd bowed and dismissed himself when she'd snapped out if it, calling after him, "I want to see it."

"Ma'am?"

"I just...I want to see this thing that almost took my husband's quirk; almost killed him."

He had a feeling he shouldn't, but the woman did technically outrank him. Not to mention she was here as a spouse, a worried one sure, but one unauthorized to do Hero work; harmless.

"Come with me please."

With a last glance into the room she decided to go, stopping a nurse beforehand, of course, and making sure her husband would get something to eat.

* * *

"Through here."

Cherushī followed Naomasa through narrow metal corridors. It was cramped and cold but familiar to the hero. The military bases she worked out of were like this. She trained in large rooms in the underbellies of old installations. Sealed off in large metal rooms.

"There's a viewing window." he addressed the woman over his shoulder as they approached the last set of metal doors. "It's better if we don't let you in the room."

That was fine. She didn't _need _to get into the room.

No one so far had given her an accurate description of the thing they kept referencing. She'd been told it was large, strong, and not even remotely human but, as she looked at it, she thought otherwise.

"It _was _human."

It was large but not malformed. Exposed human brain and human proportions despite it's size. The bulging eyes were distracting but no more than the beak-like mouth. It's arms were bound to it's sides and it sat on the floor, legs crossed, like a small child waiting for instructions.

"We suspect some sort of bio engineering with a human base."

She nodded, "Quirks?"

"Many, according to All Might. Regeneration for sure, among others along the lines of impermeability."

Her eyes narrowed, "So it _is_ as strong as All Might."

The officer sighed, "Stronger."

The more Cherushī looked it, the easier it became to imagine it on top of her husband; crushing him, breaking him...

"Could I have a moment please?"

She'd noted the camera above the door in the hall, watching her, and the single camera in the cell. Naomasa nodded, "Of course ma'am."

"Thank you."

Her smile dropped when the door closed, hidden from the camera as she faced the cell. Three minutes tops was all she had before her moment was over. It was all she'd need. This thing, Nomu, she'd seen on a paper the officer had signed, didn't seem very smart. She doubted it could hold it's breath for too long. Or that it would even try.

A small black hole appeared before the camera in the cell before a second opened under the beast, dropping it into nothing before closing up.

Cherushī had been up to a lot in five years. Including gaining better control of her Quirk. She could open multiple holes at once now and control what came out of or went into each one; if anything passed through them at all.

She stared into the empty room calmly, counting in her head. Thirty seconds, forty-five, sixty...

The camera in the cell was being watched just as she was, but her calm demeanor would keep them out for only another minute.

The Nomu dropped out of another hole, not too far from the floor of the cell just as she cleared the camera and armored officers came rushing inside. She didn't address anyone as she calmly left the hall, leaving them to go into the cell and cautiously check the wheezing prisoner.

It's large eyes watched her as she left, yet it was nearly as calm as it had been when it was apprehended, despite having been attacked.

"What happened?"

"You didn't see?"

Naomasa knew she'd done something, but had no proof and really no authority to do anything about it. "The camera was dark."

"It just...keeled over. Seemed to be having a hard time breathing. Good thing your men came in."

"Mrs. Aizawa..."

"I need to get back to the hospital, Officer Naomasa. I can call a cab from the lobby?"

He stared at her a touch longer, and there it was, the cold in her eyes. The cold of someone who worked a far different world than he did, "Yes ma'am."

Cherushī Aizawa smiled an honest smile, "Thank you."

* * *

_"I saw it. The thing that did this to you."_

_Aizawa had turned his eyes to her when she reentered the hospital room. He now looked up at her with not quite disappointment in his eyes as she stood over his bed "What did you do?"_

_"Nothing I can get in trouble for."_

When Naomasa retrieved the woman for the meeting the next morning, he said nothing of Nomu or the night before. Instead, he readied her for another shock.

Jumper listened intently to everything he said about All Might. His fading, borrowed, Quirk and his weakened form. Privileged information she could know as the wife of a Japanese Hero teaching at UA, but information she could not share with her own country.

She had no quips about that at all. She wasn't here for them anyway.

Upon entering the meeting room she was introduced to the Heroes there. Present MIC was not in attendance, but there was a familiar face in Midnight, who smiled at her somehow both warmly and sadly. Nezu, the UA principle, knew of her of course. But she was new to Snipe, The Blood Hero: Vlad King and All Might, whose side of the U-shaped table she approached, bowing low.

"Thank you, All Might, for saving my husband and his students."

He stood and bashfully rubbed his head, "No need to thank me Mrs. Aizawa."

His appearance was only slightly shocking. The form she'd seen on the news was not the one before her. This man was small and frail, his eyes hollow and tired; even more so than Shouta's usually bloodshot gaze.

She claimed the empty seat across from him, feeling puzzled gazes on her. The heroes who'd just learned of her were clearly surprised. But now the focus should be elsewhere.

"Shall we begin?" Mr. Principle, Nezu, urged gently.

The officer cleared his throat and brought his prepared notes up closer so he could see.

"Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called 'League of Villains'. We've made some progress but we can't find anything on their leader, Shigaraki, so far. We've searched our records for men in their twenties or thirties who are registered as having some sort of disintegration Quirk but so far, we've come up empty."

Cherushī looked down at the desk. This Shigaraki had disintegrated part of Aizawa's elbow, she'd learned. The medical photos of the crumbling skin made her stomach turn.

"The Warp Gate villain, Kurogiri, isn't registered either."

"They wouldn't be." the American finally spoke up. It's easier to be a villain if no one knows about you."

"But registration is mandatory, globally, as soon as a quirk rises." Vlad King chimed.

"Yes, which means this was villainy bred into this young man. Whoever raised him, if anyone did at all. Chose to hide his quirk." the room listened to her closely, giving her and her clear Japanese their rapt attention, "As for this Kurogiri, it makes sense he's not registered. Spacial reality Quirks, like warp gates, are very rare and dangerous. Most Quirk bearers of our type die, usually killing themselves accidentally when the quirk manifests or during training. His control over it says a lot about him though, he's dangerous."

"Like 'ours'?" Snipe wasn't the only one to catch that. Besides Officer Naomasa, Nezu and Nemuri. They'd been unaware that Mrs. Aizawa was a hero as well.

Cherushī offered a gentle smile, still somewhat averting her gaze though, "I'm sure you have questions, but we should really continue."

"Continue with what?" Sakijiro, The Blood Hero, lent back in his seat and crossed his arms, "We know nothing more than we did yesterday."

"We still have to keep looking." Snipe urged, "I shot their leader but I'm sure as soon as he heals up he'll try something like this again."

"He definitely seems like the type." All Might seemed to muse to himself. He paused a moment then spoke louder, "He boasted about Nomu's many quirks and monologued about childish ideals. When things didn't go his way he nearly threw a tantrum; he's a man-child."

"A man-child who got nearly one-hundred villains to follow his lead."

The rest of the room went on to speculate about The League of Villains while Cherushī almost bore a hole into the desk with her gaze as she thought. There was no way those villains were following Shigaraki...they were following whoever was pulling _his_ strings. Even some low level punk villain would scoff at someone who acted as All Might described.

The issue Japan had on it's hands was much bigger than a warped and emboldened man-child. Much much bigger.

Mr. Principle's voice floated in as he climbed down from his set and effectively ended the meeting, "Well, we know who our enemy is and we'll be ready next time. For now we continue teaching our students how to be the best heroes they can be. I'm sure you'll keep us updated?"

Naomasa nodded, tucking his notes under his arm. Cherushī joined him, bowing to the rest of the room. "Thank you for letting me join you, I will relay this information to my husband."

As she stood straight she was squished into a hug. Nemuri squeezed her tight, "It was so good to see you."

Suddenly the woman was very aware of her early morning flight. The feeling of being ripped away from a place that felt like home, again.

"Hopefully next time it'll be under better circumstances."

"Mrs. Aizawa?" her ride back to the hospital, Officer Naomasa called out to her gently.

When she left the room there was a silence as Nezu closed the door, keeping the teachers inside. "Eraserhead's marriage is a secret for a reason. I trust that the information will not leave this room."

Everyone agreed, and understandably so. While his marital status was a shock to those who didn't already know, they respected their fellow hero and teacher. But they really couldn't help but to ponder on the mysteries around Cherushī Aizawa.


	5. Separate But Equal

**Chapter 5**

**Separate But Equal**

* * *

Shouta returned to teaching a day after his wife arrived back in her home country. He reassured her he was well enough to at least teach class and promised he'd take time to heal before teaching anything physical.

The sports festival was coming, so she tried her best to understand his need and want to guide his students as it neared.

Light conversation of the festival had ended their phone session but it had begun with more pressing matters.

_"This is serious Shouta. The kind of behavior the League of Villains is exhibiting will spread."_

"Their target is All Might. As long as he's here..."

_"I mean,"_ she interrupted gently,_ "The sheer idea of them banding together like this. We haven't ever seen villain groupings that large here…or anywhere."_

She had a point. They'd be seeing these groupings form all over the world before too long...

"I don't want you to worry."

_"You cant tell me that when you're in the middle; and when it __**will**__ happen again. Shigaraki will come back, with worse."_

Cherushī had been right. Alarmingly right. The attack on Hosu City sent out a worldwide spark. Once again everyone was watching Japan and soon the world's governments were having to answer questions they'd never been asked before.

Should quirks be outlawed? Or even cured? No villains, no heroes, no problem. The words of The Hero Killer, this Stain, came at the worst possible time as well.

In some countries, hero schools were closing at alarming rates and children with quirks were being turned away from regular institutions. Most world leaders blindly assured citizens that this was "Japan's problem.", despite the hike in villain activity everywhere. Further alienating the small island country at what was becoming its most vulnerable time.

The ripple affect from the actions of one so called man-child villain were immense. And if Cherushī hadn't already felt distanced from her husband before, she felt completely barred from him now.

"Effective immediately, all international hero licenses are null and void until further notice. It has been the decision of the president and hero council for the United States to effectively ground all American heroes to U.S. soil."

"Why? What good does that do?" One hero asked.

"Until we can be sure that the League of Villains is not an international issue, we need all of our heroes at home. I'm sorry, but we're hoping this isn't something that will last forever."

Jumper was far from satisfied, "Beyond the fact that now we'll lose our licenses by doing the right thing," and for her if she chose to see her husband, she chuckled in disbelief at the realization of this, "what about other countries that need our help? The league isn't the only threat to international security. There are villains _everywhere_."

"At such a time heroes are needed elsewhere the president will decide to waive the international ban for select heroes best for the job."

"Right now it seems like Japan cold use our help." Another hero spoke up.

The man announcing sighed heavily, "We can only hope that Japan will overcome this and things can go back to normal. For now though, this is what it is."

Chatter broke out when he left the room. Mainly disbelief at their leaders' choice to abandon another country. And shock at the rumor that they weren't the only country closing rank.

But it possibly wouldn't be long before others followed suit.

This news couldn't have come at a worse time. Cherushī couldn't reach Aizawa now. He was in the wilderness somewhere with his students. Summer training camp he'd said. It baffled her how he kept taking these children out into the open. Almost infuriated her but he'd said, "I can't stop their training now. I can't tell them becoming a hero is too dangerous; they know that, we all do."

Truth or no, the world was changing. The type of hero Aizawa wanted to teach and train would only be limited by new rules, new laws; as unfair and alienating as they'd be.

Before long, maybe the international license would be rendered obsolete.

"Jumper," another woman approached her, touching her arm gently, "what are you going to do?"

"Probably something stupid."

The woman, a hero named Typhoon: The Storm Hero, took a deep breath. "I figured." She guided the woman away into a hall where there were less open ears, "How do you think he'll take it?" She was talking about Aizawa of course. Typhoon, whose real name was Melissa, was one of Cherushī's closest friends and the only American hero to know about her international marriage.

"He'll be rational," Cherushī looked down at her hands, "and calm. He'll probably ask me to forfeit my license and move."

"Will you?"

"Without hesitation."

"You'd never be able to come back. They won't release you."

"I know."

Leaving the US military was complicated. Even more so for heroes. Discharge was almost never granted for any reason so voluntarily deserting meant forfeiting a hefty pension, not to mention being arrested at any given chance. But for what reason would Cherushī stay?

"I don't have any family to stay for. You know that."

Typhoon was well aware. "I'd think you'd want to stay for principle's sake. The military let you be the type of hero you wanted."

Cherushī scoffed, "That's far from the case now."

* * *

"_Married?"_

_Chelsea Commons, also known as International Hero, Jumper, glanced down at the translated marriage license among the other papers on her commander's desk. "That would be what the paper says."_

"_You were in Japan for all of six weeks __**only**__ because you botched your mission. Now I'm supposed to set up special allotments for you because you married some Jap?" The young woman looked down her nose at him which made him sigh. "Nothing's going to change for you girl." He spoke gruffly as he stamped the papers harshly. "I don't know who this man is but he's not your partner, nor your equal. We'll chop this up to stupidity and hormones and I'll see you back here in a year or less to nullify this crap."_

_Chelsea stood at attention, eyes forward, and did her best to keep her face set. _

_The man scoffed, "You're a good hero Jumper, smart too. You came home; I'm sure you'll always remember where your loyalty lies."_

* * *

"I'm requesting separation to be effective immediately."

Less than a week ago, Jumper, Typhoon, and over two dozen other heroes enlisted in the United States military were informed of a grounding of all international heroes. As well as the abandonment of an allied country going through crisis; Japan. In those few short days, Cherushī was also informed of horrifying events she unfortunately saw coming.

Her husband and his students, among other heroes and UA children, were attacked during their training camp. A pro hero was missing, as well as one of Aizawa's students. Several children were injured and, understandably, parents across the country were outraged.

The worst part, for Jumper anyway, was finding out from her own husband. His voice uncharacteristically uneven…broken.

"_We thought we'd done everything right. The location of the camp was privileged information. The only people who knew where the camp was were the people there."_

She hadn't been able to console him, he sounded almost angry; his disappointment in himself evident.

"_You warned me about taking them out there. You said this would happen. Those kids held their own, they fought like heroes…" he'd paused when she said his name softly. Otherwise unsure of what to say to him. He sighed, "Even in my pride, I failed __Cherush__ī__. I failed them."_

Being apart from him was no longer an option. It was no longer sustainable to their marriage, who he was as a teacher, or even who they were as heroes or as people. The woman was going to Japan with or without the military's go ahead.

"We're not granting you separation, Jumper. You will serve your full enlistment term; upon conclusion of which you can do whatever you want."

Another year was left on her ten year enlistment. A mandatory term following training and provisional service for Heroes. She'd given the military a large part of her life, having joined at sixteen to train until eighteen, two years of provisional service after that then ten years of service. The last six of which she spent as an international hero. She'd gone on countless secret missions and saved the world alongside heroes of other countries many times over.

She even managed to grow her Quirk, a rare happening, especially in quirks like hers…

But Cherushī was tired. At thirty, married and somehow still so lonely, one more year was one year too long.

The man behind the desk was the same one she'd dealt with five years ago. He'd mocked her marriage and leveled racist insults over her husband. She'd given him too long to be right about where her loyalties lied…

That needed to change.

She stuck out her chest, arms behind her back, gaze set over his head to the wall behind and said clearly, "Without formal release I will immediately desert the United States Military Hero Corps and defect to Musutafu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan." for the next part she lowered her gaze to his, "Where I will be a protected citizen, eligible for Hero Licensing with a private Hero Agency, due to my marriage to Japanese citizen and Pro Hero Eraserhead."

Shouta Aizawa knew what he was doing five years ago by asking, then Chelsea, to marry him. She'd never taken the time before to research or discuss what their marriage would really do for her, what freedoms it would afford.

He looked out for her as his partner, his equal.

"Chelsea Commons!" the man shouted as he stood from his desk, "You will-!"

"My name is Cherushī Aizawa!" she shouted back, interrupting him, "And I will not hesitate to abandon my duties here just as we've been forced to abandon an ally in need."

He couldn't find the words, instead ordering her to, "Get out of my office, Jumper."

Her papers were left unstamped and unfilled; her request for release denied. But the woman wasn't stopped when she left the base to which she was assigned. There were no red flags raised when she arrived at the airport and purchased a one-way ticket, beyond the general shock that she'd visit such a country now, with everything going on.

She'd smiled at the clerk as they'd labeled her bags, "Heroes are supposed to go where they're needed."


	6. Our Turn

**Chapter 6**

**Our Turn**

**A/N: It moves the story along but...eh.**

* * *

Arriving in Japan was strange. Where usually Cherushī was supplied with an escort, car, and some general plan of what to do next; now she just a civilian, standing in an airport terminal incredibly lost on her next steps.

Maybe she should go to the school, or would Shouta be at the hospital with his injured students?

When the woman arrived at the bag carousels, large crowds were gathered. There weren't even this many people on her flight and in agitation she shouldered her way between them to wait for her bags. She watched intently for the large, ugly, green duffle she packed hastily with her few belongings.

People around her were muttering about heroes and she only caught enough to recognize disappointment and disgust. The she realized why so many people were crowded around. The screens above carousel were playing a press conference. And there, between Principal Nezu and Vlad King, dressed formally, hair slicked back, was her husband.

"Oh my god."

"_**You spoke about keeping the students safe, Eraserhead. But according to our information, you encouraged them to fight during the attack in the training camp, putting them in grave danger. What was your reasoning for this?"**_

Aizawa leaned forward to the mic in front of him, _**"I concluded that because we didn't know the full situation, allowing them to use their quirks would help avoid the worst possible outcome."**_

"_**And what would that outcome be?" **_Cherushī clenched her fist. _**"Do you think 26 victims and one kidnapped child is a win for UA High?"**_

"_**I assure you the outcome could have been much worse. Had they not fought back, I fear many students would have been tortured or killed."**_

The people around her started to mutter. The theme being how the students are children and shouldn't be expected to fight.

"They're training to be hero's. If they can't fight for their own lives how do you expect them to fight for anyone else's?" The woman asked in Japanese. She stuck out as an American, with her mass of curly hair and caramel skin, and people stopped listening as Nezu went on about the gas attack.

"What would you know foreigner!"

"We don't treat our children like soldiers here."

That one stung for sure. Behind her on the television Aizawa had been pushed by the reporter and had stood up. His wife missed his impassioned statement about his missing student as she said, "They're not soldiers but the moment they were admitted to UA they were no longer children either. Their teacher made the decision that gave them the best chance of surviving. And they did." She felt her eyes well up with water but stood her ground as the crowd shouted even more.

Their was a commotion at the edge of the gathering and before she could comprehend much police were surrounding her.

"Portal Hero: Jumper, please come with us."

She went quietly. The heckling crowd cheering as she was lead away. It was embarrassing and hurtful for sure. To be lead away in front of so many angry people. People attacking her husband's decision, people missing the point of _being a hero. _

Split second decisions have to be made, and sometimes they don't always seem like the right ones.

* * *

"Where's my wife?"

"En route Eraser."

The press conference had just ended. Which meant the other pros would be moving in on the two locations believed to be tied to the League of Villains if they haven't attacked already. In one of those locations, with almost 100% certainty, they were holding his student.

Aizawa had been at a low yesterday. And he knew that more than anyone his wife picked up on that. "She'll be coming." He'd told Naomasa, he didn't know how long it would take, but definitely didn't think the flag they'd put on her passport would come up the next day.

It still amazed him how a five year marriage to a woman he'd only known for six weeks became such an intuitive partnership. Even over thousands of miles.

When she was at his side again, this time for real, forever, things would change.

* * *

"Shit."

Cherushī Aizawa was rattled, surprisingly not under arrest, and pinned inside the now crumpled town car she'd been escorted to.

"_No, you're not under arrest ma'am." the officer smiled at her from the rearview mirror, chuckling slightly, "I am to escort you to your husband. Welcome to Japan."_

It was a relief.

But one that didn't last long. It turned out that the timing of her arrival was a little too dead on. She'd felt the familiar rumble of an explosion well before the actual shockwave flipped the car and crumpled the surrounding buildings. She couldn't tell how long it had been since, though.

Again she tried to move, "Shit!" Panic was settling in and she grasped at the mangled insides of the car for purchase. Crisis situations were usually a time for hero skills and instincts to really kick in; but for Cherushī, car accidents were a weakness.

She felt herself beginning to cry, her chest tightening up. Just as she felt her husband's name rising in her throat, the officer in the front seat began to stir.

The fuzz in her vision settled and her heart rate slowed.

The warmth of her own quirk swallowing her was relaxing and short lived as she immediately dropped onto the rubble covered roadway. She hadn't noticed before that the route seemed pretty remote. There weren't very many cars around, but the buildings were all destroyed.

Distant sirens were getting closer, and the cries of trapped citizens grew louder.

She moved to the driver side of the overturned car and reached through the crushed window. Unbuckling the officer.

He opened his eyes for a moment and she smiled at him trying to ease him, "Hold your breath."

Her quirk wasn't good for rescue work, and she'd never forget how that made her feel whenever she was reminded.

She dropped the officer through a portal below him, and pulled him as gently as possible from another, horizontally.

"Thank you." He gasped out in a mix of pain and lost breath.

She wasn't allowed to use her Quirk but in this instance was glad she had a penchant for ignoring the rules. Here she was, an unlicensed hero in a foreign country in the middle of what looked and rather felt like a disaster.

What the hell was happening?

"Ma'am! Are you alright?"

The police cruiser hadn't come to a full stop before and officer exited from the passenger side, running over and kneeling down. "I'm fine. He's one if yours though, he may have a broken collarbone."

The officer waved down one of the many ambulances coming down the street, flanked by dozens more police.

"Can you tell me what's happening?"

"Heroes have it under control. We need to get you to a safe location ma'am. Where were you headed?"

"But I am..." she trailed off. Cherushī Aizawa, by any legal definition, was not still a hero.

"Ma'am?"

"You don't know me, do you?"

"I'm sorry ma'am."

She took a moment and stood, giving the medics room. "Contact officer Naomasa, tell him you have Mrs. Aizawa. He'll know where I should be."

* * *

"Her escort got hit by All For One's initial blast. But I'm hearing she's ok."

The city was in chaos. The trains were stopped, people were stuck in various parts of the city, and rescue operations were stretching police thin. In the middle of trying to clean up the Nomu and coordinate the heroes, a call had come through about a Mrs. Aizawa involved in a crash.

Meanwhile, Shouta was feeling guilty. "I should have gotten her myself."

"She arrived during the press conference Eraser. You were doing your part." Naomasa sighed, "There was no way to know she'd get stuck in the middle."

It wasn't the only reason he'd felt guilty though. He'd been so sucked into watching All-Might he hadn't noticed his wife had yet to arrive. It wasn't until it was over he realized, and after asking several officers who had no idea what he was talking about, Naomasa arrived for him.

She'd been on that roadway, in that overturned car, for almost twenty minutes...

They'd taken her to the hospital, where she was refusing treatment he'd heard. How very like her.

"Shouta."

She looked a little like a tired child. Her curly hair a bit disheveled and her caramel cheek was bruised. She'd been staring up at the tv before she looked to him, "Your student..." she started but was enveloped in his chest before she could finish.

"He's fine."

Her hands found fistfuls of his suit at his back. He lent back to look down into her face, tears streaked her cheeks, "I deserted, Shouta. I thought they were arresting me. I thought they'd send me back."

"No one is sending you anywhere."

Naomasa was taken back by the sight. At any given time it was impossible to get emotion out of Shouta Aizawa. He was a good man and a good hero, but the officer had never seen this before. His face wore a relaxed smile, he held his wife gently and spoke to her softly, calmly, evenly.

He cleared his throat, catching the couple's attention. "We received notice of your desertion from our government, Mrs Aizawa. Rest assured, before it was passed to me, it was cleared here. As long as you remain in Japan you are a free citizen of Japan and a hero if you wish to remain as such."

Cherushī clutched at her husband again, more tears flowing from her green eyes, "Thank you." she bumbled several times in english before gathering herself and looking at him, switching to Japanese, "Thank you."

* * *

"I have the worst timing."

The Aizawa's sat together in the back of another town car, the woman squeezing her husband's hand.

"No. It was perfect."

She knew what he meant. He hated the press and having to decompress on his own after that, after everything that happened tonight… It was too much to ask of either of them.

"You're an amazing teacher, Shouta."

He squeezed her hand back, "Thank you for walking away for me."

Cherushī felt guilty. "I should have done it long ago." She started to cry again, "I never had to stay there, or go back. But I felt like I was supposed to." she shook her head before turning to him and smiling, "My loyalty should go where my heart is. And it was _always _here with you."

"Welcome home, Cherushī."


	7. Mighty Need

**Chapter 7**

**Mighty Need**

* * *

"Nervous?"

Shouta Aizawa sighed as his wife worked to gently pull back his hair. Tying it up neatly. "Not really. I just don't want to deal with parents."

"I don't think you'll get much pushback. Its a good idea, moving them into dorms." She tilted back his head and applied drops to his eyes, ready with a tissue to dab the residual tears.

UA decided to build dormitory buildings on the school grounds. For now, it was exclusive to Class 1-A for the rest of the summer. Other buildings would be completed for other students, should their parents choose, when the school opened in the fall.

"Do you think your students will feel singled out? Being the only one's required in dorms for the summer?"

He closed his eyes and smirked, "I'm sure they'll feel the opposite, special even."

Cherushī stepped back to let her husband stand. She handed him his bag and jacket; adjusted his tie.

Aizawa gently grabbed her hand as she started to obsess a bit, "_You _look nervous."

"Yeah. I am."

He frowned, "I'm sorry I cant be with you. Nezu says we have to do this today."

It had been just under a week since One For All was defeated, the League of Villains got away, and All-Might retired. Since then Cherushī was working on becoming a Japanese citizen and hero. All that was left was going to the board of the Hero Commission and convincing them of her station. Where she wanted to be as a hero in Japan, what she wanted to accomplish.

"It's alright. I want you to focus on continuing to be a great teacher. I don't want to be in the way."

"You're my wife. You could never be in the way."

"I guess i'm just used to being thousands of miles away. Scheduled into each other's lives by phone-call." she laughed weakly.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and sat her down next to him, putting his bag back on the floor and giving her his attention, "Why are you nervous?"

She looked down at her hands, "I don't know what kind of hero to be without the military telling me. I gave them my whole life and they gave me direction." on the table before them there were books stacked high. Aizawa's own books, long forgotten until recently, on Japanese hero law and practices. Guidelines from the Hero Commission.

In the US, Cherushī was granted lethal use of her Quirk and freedom to go and do as she pleased. Free to carry out duties by any means necessary. She was a hero with a kill count. Not something one came across often.

"You have many options."

"I know. Doesn't make deciding easier."

Before he could elaborate, ease her fears, the phone rang. She jumped up to answer, greeting in english before chuckling nervously and switching to Japanese before hanging up.

"All-Might is here with the car."

With a sigh he picked up his bag and headed to the front door with her in tow. He was already annoyed and already ready for the day to be over.

His wife had a smile ready for the retired hero who she waved to as he stood by the car in his, now, normal form, arm in a sling. But it dropped when another car pulled up, a police car this time, and Naomasa emerged. "Shit."

Aizawa put himself between her and the car, leaning down to kiss her warmly. "Just be your honest self."

Cherushī was still misty eyed as he turned to leave, "Right, my honest self." she eyed the police car before returning inside for her things and sighing, "Let's hope that works out for me."

Getting into the backseat of a police car didn't feel very empowering. Naomasa sat in front with another officer driving. "When you said you'd come and get me, I didn't think it'd be in a police cruiser."

He chuckled nervously, "I'm very sorry about that. After the accident with the last car, the car we've leant to Eraser and All-Might…"

The woman took a deep breath, "It's ok. I guess I just still fear I could be arrested and sent away."

"We're not sending you away. We need and _want _you here."

She nodded and looked out the window at her new home passing by, "I haven't told Shouta, but someone called me a foreigner in the airport. I spoke up to defend him, during the press conference. 'What do you know foreigner?'" she recalled, "'We don't treat our children like soldiers here.'." Despite her clear Japanese, she did stick out as a foreigner. Thick curly hair, round nose, caramel brown skin and striking green eyes saw to that.

Naomasa frowned deeply.

Unknown to Japan though, unknown to the world, Jumper had saved said world plenty of times over. They were unaware of her sacrifice, even now, being brave enough to desert her own country in favor of theirs.

She had just arrived, to help, and was rebuked immediately.

"Today isn't a question of whether or not you are a hero, Jumper. Its a question of what kind of hero you'll be."

The car slowed to a halt. The hero commission building was tall and sparkling in the morning sun.

Cherushī looked up at it, squinting, "Therein lies the problem. I have no idea."

* * *

"May I ask you a question, Eraser?"

"Is it about meeting the parents?"

All-Might rubbed the back of his head nervously, "No. Uh, it's about your marriage."

Aizawa tried not to sigh too heavily. In the few days they'd had together, he and Cherushī didn't take the time to discuss whether or not they'd out their marriage. But with her here with him, with the end to her secret missions of various types all over the world…why not?

"Go ahead."

"How did you do it? I mean, I'm not sure how long you've been married, you don't wear a ring, she lived in a different country until now…"

He looked down at his hand. They hadn't exchanged rings, having rushed their wedding the day before she left five years ago. And they never found a need for such a symbol. "I knew I wanted to continue to know her after I met her. She was interesting to me." he rubbed his bare ring finger, "As I did, she was more than interesting, she was mine. She may not have been next to me for five years, but she was with me always."

"Five years!"

He chuckled, "Shocks me too sometimes."

"So, may I ask, why it's a secret?"

"She did a lot for her country, ours and others. Some things that not all heroes would understand. But I think it was ultimately to protect me."

"I've heard stories about heroes in the American military. It can be a brutal place." All-Might nodded to himself. "I'm glad she can be here for you."

Aizawa was a bit taken back, "Thank you All-Might. I'm glad too."

* * *

"Why now?"

Cherushī looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She sat across from a long table of decision-making men. The chief of police, the head of the hero commission, and even a man from immigration services. This was the last thing to do today, after taking physical tests for ability and written for understanding of laws and practices. She was tired, but determined. "Do you mean as opposed to five years ago?"

They all mumbled amongst themselves before an unidentified man spoke, "One would wonder if you waited for a moment that would best benefit you."

"I didn't wait for anything–"

"We beg to differ, Jumper." She was interrupted by the chief of police. "We're seeing unprecedented villain activity and have just lost our symbol of peace. We need every hero we can get and it's as if you knew this. A woman who since marrying one of our own has been to this country," he checked his papers and scoffed, "three times in five years."

"I keep being reassured that I wont be sent away. But with how you're drilling me I'd think you want to."

The men all cleared their throats and shuffled the folders before them. The head of the hero commission spoke evenly and almost gently, "That's not at all what this is. We just have to understand, as such a decorated US hero, why you deserted to be here."

Cherushī tried to make eye contact with each man before she spoke, "I'm sure it's obvious why I'd want to help." She alluded to her marriage, "But they wouldn't let me. You all do know what the US has done?"

They looked at each other, disappointment in their eyes, "We're aware, it's unfortunate but understandable."

"I didn't find it understandable at all. Quite frankly, it pissed me off." Her frankness caused stirring, "I've only been here three times because the country I decided to devote my life and my Quirk to made sure I wouldn't be able to. Of the three times I've been here I was formally reprimanded twice. The third was because my husband had been injured and even then I was allowed here for only two days."

"This still begs the question of why you didn't desert before."

"Because I am a loyal soldier, sir." It seemed obvious to her, "Because I agreed to an allotted time as a Hero with the US and I felt duty bound to finish it. Especially when my husband understood that and supported me."

"Are you saying Eraserhead shared some newfound distaste for your situation?"

"The opposite." She folded her hands up tight, "He never brought up my coming here for good again after the first time. But I never stopped considering it. I tried to serve my full term with the military. I tried very hard. But when I was told we'd be abandoning an ally in need…" she trailed off and sighed sadly, "I realized my country didn't stand for what I stood for."

They all seemed to be leaning into her words, interested. "What do you stand for, Jumper?"

"I like to think I stand for going where I'm needed, as a hero should. Not where it's politically correct to be or mutually beneficial."

There were unanimous nods. "Where do you think you're needed?"

"I don't know, sir. I won't say I didn't come with the intent of helping my husband, helping him protect his students. But beyond that, beyond him and beyond those kids, I understand and accept that what I want may not be what you all need."

Murmurs again. The head of the hero commission cleared his throat, "Have you at all researched our hero agencies here? There are several where you could be placed."

Cherushī's heart had already been pounding, but now moreso. "I have researched the best I could these last few days. I unfortunately don't know my best fit. You said yourselves that you need every hero you can get. Put me where you want me, please."

The next few moments were agonizing. Not quite silence but no one was asking her questions or even looking at her. They were trading papers and whispering amongst themselves. When the chief of police stood she found herself holding her breath.

"We planned to honor whichever agency you chose, Jumper. But, we've analyzed as much of your information as your country would allow us to and we know where we need you." There wasn't a long pause before he told her, but she hung there anyway, "You'll be reporting to the police anything you hear or see related to the League of Villains while you assist at UA. Principle Nezu will place you accordingly as he needs and we will call on you should things change."

The woman didn't realize her tears until an assistant approached with tissues, which she politely declined, "I-I can be with Shouta? I can help his kids?"

The man almost chuckled, "As well as the other students at UA, for now. We _do_ need you, Jumper. And you'll be relied on for your full capabilities."

She stood to take a case brought to her by another assistant and barely heard them say what was inside. A new hero costume to be adjusted as she needed, a Hero License and paperwork solidifying her as a Japanese citizen. She thanked them, but continued to hear rushing water and she was escorted to the lobby of the building by Naomasa who chatted excitedly.

Outside Shouta Aizawa smiled at his wife, waiting patiently by the car he'd left in that morning.

"Well, how'd it go?"

For a moment it was as if the Cherushī of five years ago, Chelsea, stopped into herself. Her face broke into a wide smile, coloring the tips of her husband's ears, "Teacher Shouta, meet your new assistant."


End file.
